Putting the Pieces Together
by Bird Freak Sketcher
Summary: Everyone thought it was over when Karl had that pick axe smashed into the side of his head. But someone is about to put Humpty Dumpty back together again. No matter how hard it is when you have Arma pecking at your ear.
1. Shattered

_**Putting the Pieces Together**_  
_**One - Shattered**_

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* * *

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Shattered resin fragments scattered across the roof top, the woman in the wedding dress clutching the pickaxe was breathing heavily. The live mannequin behind her stared with wide mud eyes at the remains of the person –the statue–that he had come help to rescue.

Karl might have been a slightly psychotic but the fact that he had been defeated chilled Climber. Especially since Karl was smashed right in front of Climber, the statue's eyes frozen inhumanly large.

It was apparent that Karl was never going to say a witty remake ever again.

Annie glanced back at Climber, as if daring him to attack her too. Climber swallowed backing up a little. Karl's crow, Arma, circled above then dropped down next to what was left of Karl. Annie turned her head, glaring at the bird. She readied herself for its attack but Arma didn't move. The bird cocked its head looking down at Karl almost sadly.

Taking her eyes off the crow Annie turned to her fallen husband. Dropping the pickaxe she ran over to him, silently crying as she held him in her arms.

'He's dead. Both of them are.' Climber thought to himself his eyes moving back and forth from Ginger and Karl. Climber jumped as Arma shrieked. The bird rarely made any noise. Standing up Climber slowly walked over to Karl's shattered body. "Come... Come on Arma." Climber stuttered reaching out for her.

Arma darted at him, just barely missing Climber's shoulder. She dove at him again her red eyes narrowing. Climber snatched up his pickaxe using it to try and shield him from the angered bird. "Okay! Okay! I'm sorry!" Climber cried, holding his hands above his head as Arma continued to dive bomb him.

'She's not going to leave him... I was hoping she'd come back to the park.' Climber thought sadly, running for cover from the bird. Once it was clear to Arma that Climber wasn't going to try and take her away she returned to Karl's side, gently pecking at what was left of Karl's head.

"Damn bird shut up!" Annie snapped, shooting at the bird. Watching from a distance Climber watched as Arma fled the woman's bullets. Picking up her husband Annie ran past Climber, down some twisted steps behind him.

Climber took one last glance at Karl as Arma came back. With a sigh he turned following Annie down the steps.

'I guess I'll have to tell Mr. Jack what happened.' Climber thought sadly.

Back on the roof top Arma sat beside Karl as if the bird was waiting for him to get up. A piece of broken building was knocked aside causing Arma to turn her beady red eyes to a figure that has gently jumped down to the roof.

Blinking the bird stared up at the young figure that stared at her and Karl. The figure walked slowly over to Karl, picking up a large piece of what use to be his arm.

Arma quickly took to the air to dive bomb the mysterious person that was trying to take a piece of Karl. Mid dive Arma stopped above the figure's head. There was something different about this person. Karl had always disliked humans, so effectively Arma had too. But she was unable to tell if this person with the hood over their head was a human or not. That and the figure did not give off a hostile vibe unlike the other competitors.

The figure glanced up at the hovering Arma, bright ice blue eyes staring up at the crow. Arma backed off, flying back over to Karl. The figure followed her and slender hands picked up Karl's snapped head. His blank wide eyes stared in horror at nothing, a large hole in the left side of his head with the scar on his eye, the right side of his resin head smashed in.

"This will take awhile to pick up all the pieces." The figured mused with a slight smile holding up Karl's head.

Arma stared, her red eyes lightly up.

* * *

"I'm sorry Mr. Jack." Climber mumbled looking down at the ground.

"...That is... unfortunate. At least... we... tried..." Jack sighed.

On the other hand anyone who Karl had tried to kill were rejoicing. A little. The death of Ginger wasn't making anyone jump around at the news that Karl was dead but they were smiling. "I'm glad he's dead. The world doesn't need him." Mizuno grumbled. In the beginning he had thought Karl was going to help him, just to find out that Karl had no intention in helping anyone. The moment that Arma had changed into a sword Mizuno had hated Karl.

Annie was thinking much the same. Karl had killed Ginger, so it didn't concern her too much that she had destroyed the murderous statue. Chimbley pointed out that Annie had her wish, she could very well wish for Ginger's life back. Annie smiled, she was the winner so she won the wish.

"Well...there's nothing else... that we can do here." Jack said turning to the gargoyle behind him. "...Let's go Climber..."

Climber sadly looked up at the building Karl was left on, which toward above them because of the giant that the Law of Talos had created before they had stopped it. He climbed onto the back of the gargoyle next to Jack.

"Good bye everyone. See you Chimbley." Climber said with a soft smile. "Sure bye gov' " Chimbley said not really caring. Climber looked at Annie who was still holding Ginger. "Good luck." Climber said to her. Annie nodded, "I had to do what I did. Sorry about your friend." She didn't really sound that sorry. "Karl wasn't my friend." Climber said quietly.

"...Okay we're ready..." Jack said to the gargoyle. Spreading its wings it took off, Climber grabbed onto one of the spikes near him so he didn't fall off during takeoff. Once they were steady in the air Climber was confident enough to let go.

The ride was in silence and soon they were just slightly past the sand coloured city. "Don't worry Climber...That blue boy may... have been... right..." Jack said sadly. Climber couldn't tell if it was the fact of what happened to Karl or because that was how Jack usually was. "I–I still can't believe it though. I even tried bringing Arma back, b–but she didn't want to come." Climber shuttered at the memory of Arma attacking him. That bird was scary.

"...Hmm... do you hear that...?" Jack asked looking over his shoulder. Climber looked too, seeing a small black mass flying quickly towards them. "Arma!" Climber gasped as he saw the two red eyes. He was about to let her land on his arm when she shot past them and dove.

"Where–" Climber blinked as he saw where Arma had gone. Down bellow them was some weird flying contraption. It was a small pod like thing with blades spinning on top of it. There was a person sitting in it but it was too far away for Climber to see who it was. In the back of the pod was what looked like a bunch of rubble which Arma landed on, pecking at a large unusually shaped piece of rock. Maybe it was pieces of the city behind them.

But how could Climber not notice it wasn't brown, but some of the 'rubble' was blond?


	2. The Tourney Comes to Town

_**Putting the Pieces Together**_  
_**Two – The Tourney Comes to Town**_

* * *

I could say it was like every other day but that would be such a lie. One: mom and dad had finally let me move into the apartment two doors down. Two: since I dropped out of school I didn't have to go today.

And three: I had a psycho crow dive bombing my head while I tried to sleep.

"Aggh!" I put my arms up to shield my face which made her fly off for a moment until I brought them down. "Arma quit that!" I cried diving under the table near my hammock. I had yet to move my bed into my new apartment so I had taken a large piece of sturdy cloth I found and tied it around two posts next to the window. "I'm up, I'm up just stop attacking me." I begged ducking my head so I could crawl out from underneath the table a little. I was about to look up to see where Arma was but she was right in front of me.

Then pecked my nose.

"OWW!" I wailed jumping back. I forgot to duck my head and smashed it against the edge of the table. A piece of resin shattered behind me making me cringe.

"Aww man." I crawled backwards, this time minding my head, to where the piece was. It had been a larger piece but now it was in five smaller pieces, and little crumbs of material. I picked up one of the slightly curved off white pieces and sighed.

"Oh Arma look what happened. How am I supposed to fix him if you keep making me break pieces?"

I stood up, gathering the pieces together and turned to my long table to find where they went. It looked more like an operation table with the smashed pieces of the statue laid out flat where they should go. The only complete pieces that hadn't been completely broken were his head, part of an arm and a leg, not counting the missing piece on the bottom of his boot. There were a lot of pieces missing though due to the fact that they had been lost along the way before I found him or because they were incinerated by bullets. Sadly that's what I noticed; there were a lot of chips in his head from bullet dings.

Sighing I placed the newly broken pieces near the larger sections of his collar. I folded my arms looking him up and down. So many pieces I hadn't been able to pick up because they were too small or reduced to dust. The bullet hole in his leg had no piece to fit back into it and some of the pieces weren't even original ones but melds that had been hastily done as he continued on. "It might have been just a little smarter to make him stop for a bit for you to fix him." I told her. Arma seemed unmoved. I knew for a fact that she was a lot smarter than an average bird, being a statue just like what was on my table.

I tugged my dark red hood just a little farther down over my face with a sigh. If I kept sighing I'd better go see a doctor about getting me some anti-depressant pills soon. "So what is it? Why'd you wake me up?" Arma cocked her head to the side.

I had watched him day in and day out as much as I could and he talked to her as if she was talking. Never once did I hear Arma make a sound except for that day on the roof. Maybe she just made sense to him. Nevertheless I somehow found myself speaking again like I was answering Arma's unspoken words.

"I can't fix him yet I don't have the supplies I need. I'll get some soon though, would you like to come with me?"

Arma flew over to me, landing on my head. "I'll take that as a yes." I smiled. Drawing the curtain I had put up to divide the long room into two, most of it being on the other side as my bed and the reconstruction room, I grabbed my side back from the worn out couch.

As I said before my apartment was long and narrow. It was essentially one room but with the curtain up I had successfully created two rooms. On the side of the curtain with my bed was of course the table, a large desk and some lamps, one on the desk and another hanging above the table. My hammock was hanging by the square window that looked out over the grimy city. On the other side of the curtain was a couch, a smaller coffee table, a rug underneath that, a few chairs and a small counter with a sink and stove. Some cupboards held the little food I had taken from my family's apartment. It was a bit of a fixer upper but I could do that after I was almost finished with the poor statue on my table.

Locking the door behind me I set out with Arma perched on my head.

* * *

"Okay so... we're gonna need to get a lot of melding paste, uncured resin, and some kind of binding mixture. Man and we're probably gonna need more than seven pounds of it." I said sourly to Arma. It felt like she didn't really care. I looked at my large side bag. There was no way I was going to fit everything I needed in there. And even if I could fit everything in there was no way for me to physically carry it all back home.

Home. Damn I felt so paranoid about being so far away from the apartment. If anything were to happen I couldn't– No I shouldn't be thinking that way. Nothing was going to happen. He'd be fine. But what if the crazy chick in the wedding dress somehow found us? Inside I started to panic. I got two beady red eyes in my face. Arma gave me a quizzing look.

"I know I shouldn't be worrying." I said to the bird, "But I'm scared that something might happen to him. Even in his state I can fix him but if he's smashed up to no return there's no way I could put him back together." Well no duh.

Arma moved back so she was balanced back on my head. "I don't know about this Arma. What if I can't fix him?" I got an argy peck on my head. "Come on you know why I'm not using his name..." I grumbled. Names meant more than anyone could imagine, but I was scared if I said his name it would give me a thought that he must come back if I fix him. If I didn't, I wouldn't give up that hope if it didn't happen. If I said his name it would give all those pieces on the table an identity. Having that in mind would just make me depressed. So I thought of it like I was just fixing a statue, because well that's what I was doing.

Once again I got a sharp peck in the head. "Oww Arma what was that for?" I whined and realized I just about walked by the store that I was going to. "Ohh... Thanks Arma." I smiled walking into the shop. This was the go to place for statues, sculptures and everything that had to do with stone, concrete, clay and porcelain.

It always warm in the shop, and the smell of baking clay was rarely not in the air. That and a thin layer of stone dust that hung in a cloud around the shop.

I looked around, distracting myself with the statues even though I knew the stuff I needed were practically at the back of the shop. Impatient, Arma flew off my head landing gently on a statue further ahead. "Just a moment I'm looking." I said.

"May I help you?"

"GAH!" I cried nearly jumping out of my boots. "Sorry didn't mean to scare you." Behind me was the store owner. "Oh it's you again! Should have known you're the only one who wears a hood around here." He said.

"No it's not your fault, I'm just on edge. I got back from a tournament I got sucked into by accident." I shuttered. "I thought those were illegal now." The store owner said gravely. He sighed, "Anyway how could I help you?" I showed him my list. "Well I have all of that stuff. By the sound of it you're fixing something big." I followed the store owner to the back of the shop and Arma flew back to perch on my head.

"Yeah I'm fixing up a statue that got smashed." I answered. "Hmmm must have been crumbling to begin with resin doesn't smash too easily unless of course it was dropped from a high height.

'Nothing's wrong. I just felt a sudden attraction to this... _iron support_.'

Well that would explain his fear of heights. "Where'd you get the bird?" The store owner asked taking a hesitant glance at Arma. I could understand why, to anyone Arma would seem off for some strange reason.

"I found her." Not exactly a lie.

"Hmm okay how much will you need?"

I frowned. "I'm not so sure. The statue is around adult height and he's smashed up pretty badly."

The store owner stared at me. "Did you say... _he_?" I nodded to his question. Now this guy probably thought I was crazy. "Well... I can give you a big back of each for now, if you need some more you can come back later." The store owner dropped three large bags in front of me. The resin was the largest, in a kind of melding clay state. I was going to have to get some paints later to repaint him. Thanking the store owner for his help and paying him I left the store, heaving the two larger bags while the bag of binding mixture was stored in my pack.

"God these are heavy! And the weight from the one in my bag doesn't help much. Arma do you think you could carry that one?" I asked the crow. I stopped, setting down the larger bags and fishing out the binding mixture. Though the moment I let go and Arma had it herself she sunk like a rock. I quickly caught her before she smashed against the ground. I really didn't need her to be in pieces too.

Arma glared at me, letting go of the bag and landing with a thud on my head. "I didn't think it'd be that heavy for you Arma. Please don't be angry with me." I smiled sheepishly.

'I think she's only sticking around because I'm fixing him. She doesn't really like me that much.' I though sadly, picking up my bags and lugged them down the street. 'Well no duh idiot,' I thought to myself 'He hated humans so consequently Arma did too.'

Why did things have to be so difficult? Gah why did I have to be left with her! Why did living statues have to exist?

The moment that thought hit me I noticed something I hadn't before. There were a lot of weird people in town today. There were skin tones that didn't seem natural (some of it I don't even think was skin) weird eye shapes and colours, heck some girl had freaking antennas by the looks of it! "Uhh where did all of these... _people_ come from? They weren't here yesterday were they Arma?" I said nervously. It was three days since I left Taitle and looking around this set up was kind of reminding me of the beginning of the tournament.

And my fears were confirmed.

Out of nowhere I was suddenly blinded by dark yellow something. Crying out in surprise I dropped my bags, stumbling around as I tried to recover from my shock. Finally I regained control of my flailing arms and ripped whatever had flown right at my face off. Once I settled down Arma returned to my head since she had flown off to escape my freak out.

"Sorry about that Arma... What's this?" I said looking down.

In my hand was a piece of yellow paper, and from the looks of it it must have been pinned up somewhere before a strong wind ripped it off so it was free to go fly into people's faces. Though the way it was laid out made a pit drop in my stomach.

"Oh please don't tell me it's a tournament." I groaned my eyes scanning the bold lettering on top. I couldn't feel my legs.

"Great now we're screwed Arma. With my luck some damn competitor will come busting into my apartment during a fight." Why the heck did this city need to have a tournament? Arma gave a peck to my head and I waved her off. "Not now I've gotta think of what to do. We can't stay here or he's just gonna get completely broken. Aww man– Arma not now!" I snapped as she pecked me on the head impatiently.

Ever had a something sharp drilled into your head at rapid fire? No? Well let me tell you it hurts. I think Arma turned her beak into a jack hammer, pecking my head angrily.

"OOOOWWWWW, OKAY! WHAT IS IT! Dammit Arma stop **pecking**!" I cried holding my head. 'Why, oh why did I end up with the psycho bird?' I thought glumly. To my relief she stopped pecking my poor sore head. "Alright you got my attention what is it?" I said swinging around to wherever Arma was looking.

"You know just the way to dampen a girl's spirits Arma." I grumbled, glaring at the poster I was looking at. I thought that the tournament wasn't until a week or so since it didn't really say on the flyer. On this poster though? Here's what the poster of the devil said:

**Any citizens not attending the tournament please leave before 4:20 PM today. **

It was three o'clock right at the moment or around that. It would take at least fifteen minutes to get home. It would take my family twenty minutes to pack. It would then take at least twenty five minutes to get to the city's limits.

However for me? It would take me at least thirty minutes to find a place to safely put him in different boxes. I'd then have to carry the boxes with me to the city's limits. It would probably take me ten or even fifteen more minutes than my family to catch up with them. I'd never make it out in time. And the moment I was out on the streets I'd be victim to any of the murderous nut job competitors. I was stuck, absolutely stuck. Either way I was at the mercy of the competitors.

I dropped my head clenching my fists.

"Why the hell do they do these things? It's just going to destroy this city. What's the damn point of them anyway all that's going to happen is we're going to lose someone who didn't deserve it."

'Why did we sport killing like this?'


	3. Hiding From the Battleground

_**Putting the Pieces Together  
Three – Hiding From the Battleground**_

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* * *

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"Why aren't you coming with us!"

To say my mother was panicking a little would be the understatement of the century. Even with all the weight in my hands I had tried to run home to buy time. I might have gotten there a few minutes earlier but I highly doubted it. "Mom I have my reasons okay?" I tried to swallow the lump in my throat.

Arma was back in my apartment, since the last time my parents saw her they were freaking out about 'sign of the devil' or some crap. They were a pretty super suspicious pair those two. "But what would be the reasons for you to stay behind while a tournament's going on! You're not a part of it are you!" I cringed as my mom's voice rose in a few octaves. Oh my poor ears.

"Just leave her darling." Dad said, packing clothes into a suitcase. I wasn't so sure what he thought on the situation, he looked just as calm as ever. My younger brother, Kael, pointed an accusing finger at me, "This is probably happening because she brought that bird home from the last tournament!"

"I wasn't in that tournament Kael, I was sort of forced into it because I was visiting a friend. And no mom I'm not in the tournament, I remember very well what happened the last time." A shiver ran down my spine. I followed him from afar, always fearing he knew I was there and would kill me at some point. But I learned to fear everyone else around me. So many times I had been attacked by some nut job who wouldn't hear me out when I said I wasn't a competitor.

'Trust me kid, if you're right in the middle of it you're a competitor even though you didn't sign up for a prize.'

I can't believe how right he was. Peerce was his name; he attacked me like all the others but stopped when he heard I wasn't a competitor. He asked me why I didn't leave and my answer seemed to amuse him. 'Because there's someone here I need to keep an eye on. The guy with a scar and a bird.'

Peerce had heard of this competitor and thought I was crazy.

It took until they were walking out the door for my mother to finally shut up. They kissed me good bye, my Dad wrapped his arm around my shoulders pulling me close to tell me something. "Be careful you're going to be right in the middle of a battle ground. Remember that old lab I use to work at? Go down there, if you lock up as you go down no one should find you." He whispered and gave me a kiss on the head. "Sure thing." I smiled walking with them until my apartment door. I watched them go with my door open, part of me wanting to just leave the statue where he was and run after them. But Arma wouldn't give me the end of it. She landed on my head watching them go.

"What am I getting myself into Arma?" I mumbled entering my home so I could pack him up to go.

* * *

To my relief I found a cart to put all the boxes of shattered resin onto. Of course then I had to use the maintenance ramp that went from the top floor to the bottom floor. Though when you're trying to put a ramp in a narrow building-slightly-to-small-for-it's-purpose you've got to make it steep. So most of the time that I went down I was really walking up to stop the cart from rolling down one section of the ramp and smashing into the wall. It was like stairs, one section going to the front, then a section going to the back and repeat.

By the time I had gotten down to the first floor I was sweating and my arms felt like they were about to fall off. The streets were unnaturally deserted, a few people walking in the opposite direction of the city gate.

_Competitors._

I rolled the cart of boxes quickly across the street, the wheels clattering noisily along causing the few people there to stare at me as I ran past. Arma flew closely behind, just in range to jab at my head if she needed to. I was checking everyone I went past. I wanted to make sure I could remember them, see how they acted. Most of them seemed so full of themselves; huge burly guys with the largest weapons I've ever seen. But the one that caught my eye looked like he didn't want to be here at all. He was walking hesitantly in the same direction as the other anxiously twisting his grip on his weapon like he was nervous. "Not another tournament." He was muttering to himself, a weird look on his really pale face; he looked a little sick. "I don't want to fight anyone."

I snorted, 'you and me both buddy'. But then why was he here? He looked like a competitor by choice... kind of. Maybe like me he had his reasons. I pushed the thought out of my head and shoved the cart forward just about running into a small boy.

"Oi watch where oo're goin!"

I looked over the mound of boxes to see a really dirty young boy with a broom like thing. "Err sorry." I said. "Wot the 'ell iz in the boxes?" The boy asked reaching out to open one. Of course that's where the statue's head was, and I think this kid would know who he was. I slammed my hand down on the lid. "Nothing." I answered. I was surprised Arma hadn't pecked me in the head yet when I realized she was quite a ways ahead waiting impatiently for me.

"I'm sorry I've gotta go. Err, good luck in the tournament." I said swerving around the boy running after Arma. "Roight." The boy grumbled stuffing his hands into his pockets continuing to walk in the direction of the city's center. "Like I'm gonna enjoy dis bloody tourney."

"Two people who are competing in a tournament who don't want to? What the heck is going on here Arma?" I looked up at her questionably. Maybe it was my mind that had recently started to panic making me see things but I swear it looked like Arma shrugged mid-fight. If that was true it was short lived.

"Man I've gotta breathe, I'm starting to feel sick." I muttered turning right into an ally way. Stress did not do well with me; my stomach was turning into a pit with a fat tight knot struggling not to fall into that pit. Now I was pushing the cart quickly ahead, thus turning this innocent cart into a weapon by its speed and weight. Trust me if I ran into something now there'd be more than hurtful words.

The loud clattering of the wheels was making me nervous. Last time even before the tournament started I was attacked by a competitor itching to fight. I slowed down, head swivelling back and forth trying to find the entrance to the lab. Arma flew above my head and I followed her as she picked out a door hidden in a section that was a dead end. No one would really notice that door, what with it being covered in mud and dust making it the same colour as the wall.

"I don't know how you knew where that was Arma but I'm not going to ask." I said opening the door, descending into a spiral ramp, locking all the doors behind me. It didn't take long for us to come to probably the worst part of our journey so far.

"Awww crap." I grumbled.

"Stairs."


End file.
